January 10, 2003 — The Oconee River may flow a little cleaner in 2003 thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Altamaha Riverkeeper, the City of Sandersville and IMERYS, a kaolin company located in Sandersville.

On December 31st, the Sandersville City Council approved the terms of a settlement between Sandersville and the Altamaha Riverkeeper, Inc. in which the City agreed to improve its wastewater treatment plant and sewer system infrastructure to ensure compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act. The Act requires industries and municipalities to meet permit limits based on the ability of a body of water to receive pollutants, including toxic materials, without causing harmful effects and without damage to aquatic life.

The agreement resolves a federal lawsuit filed by Riverkeeper based on claims that the City had failed to meet its permit limits for several years in violation of the Clean Water Act. The agreement also resolves a state action in which Riverkeeper challenged the State of Georgia's decision to weaken the City's permit by removing the requirement that limits the amount of zinc that can be discharged into the river, a requirement which the City had not met in the past. As part of the settlement agreement, the City agreed to keep the zinc limit in the permit.

In addition, Sandersville agreed to support efforts by Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia related to water quality assessments and analytical projects in the Oconee River Basin and to support community-based environmental analytical projects designed to measure or enhance water quality in the Oconee River Basin.

"ARK greatly appreciates the good faith and cooperative efforts extended by the City of Sandersville in resolving this case", said Deborah Sheppard, Executive Director of ARK. "Water is a public resource and we are pleased that public officials are taking their responsibility to protect this important resource seriously."

"We believe this settlement will result in a cleaner Oconee River" said James Holland, Altamaha Riverkeeper, "and that is what ARK and the City of Sandersville were after."

Earlier last year, Altamaha Riverkeeper also reached a settlement agreement with IMERYS Clays, Inc. (IMERYS), a kaolin company located in Sandersville, Georgia, to settle similar claims that the company had failed to meet its Clean Water Act permit limits. The matter was resolved through a negotiated settlement in which IMERYS agreed to improve operating practices at its facility as well as provide a grant to Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia for use in conducting educational programs related to water quality assessment and analytical projects in the Oconee River Basin, as well as, to support community based environmental analytical projects designed to measure or enhance water quality.

"Both the City of Sandersville and IMERYS recognized their duty to the public to protect the public's rivers and streams," said Kasey Sturm, attorney for the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest. "While the law allows us to take these matters through the legal process, it is a better use of public resources to resolve these matters in a cooperative fashion."

ARK was represented by the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest and Stack & Associates. The Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest is a non-profit public interest law center dedicated to empowering Georgia's citizens by promoting the development and effective implementation of public policy and laws to protect our natural resources. More information about the Center is available at www.cleangeorgia.org.

Stack & Associates is an environmental law firm with offices in Savannah and Atlanta. More information about the firm is available at www.stackenvirolaw.com.

The Altamaha Riverkeeper organization is a non-profit organization working to protect and restore the habitat, water quality and flow of the mighty Altamaha from its headwaters in the Ocmulgee, the Oconee & the Ohoopee to its terminus at the Atlantic Ocean. ARK has recently hired an Ocmulgee Riverkeeper and is in the process of establishing a Macon office (478- 722-0007). ARK's main office is located in Darien, Georgia (912- 437-8164). Additional information is available at www.Altamahariverkeeper.org. Tax-deductible donations to support ARK's work can be sent to: Altamaha Riverkeeper, P.O. Box 2642, Darien, Georgia 31305.